JPH11157726A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: In an image forming apparatus provided with a rotation allowable gap for a member which is rotated at the time of jam clearance or the like, at a sheet transfer portion between a post-processing means and an apparatus main body. Prevent foreign matter from entering the paper transport surface from the movement allowable gap. A rotation allowing gap (G) is provided at a sheet transfer portion, and a discharge tray extension (46) as an upper cover of a post-processing device and an upper cover (70) of a relay conveyance device are provided to facilitate a jam clearance. It is provided rotatably. In addition, the upper guide plate 76 is used to facilitate the delivery of paper.
And a lower guide plate 78 are provided. The rotation permissible gap G is closed by a sponge 80 over the entire area, and the sponge 80 is adhered and fixed to the upper guide plate 76.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus capable of being equipped with post-processing means such as a finisher, a mailbox, a sorter, a sorter stapler and the like, or an image forming apparatus having such post-processing means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, multifunction has been performed while suppressing bulkiness of the apparatus height, and this has been realized by introducing a concept of a relay conveying means. . The relay conveyance means functions as an extension member of the original paper discharge section of the apparatus main body, and includes a paper conveyance path and a conveyance member therein, which is connected to the paper discharge section of the apparatus main body to be horizontal. By installing
For example, it is possible to equip a double-sided unit on one side of the device main body and post-processing means such as a sorter on the other side,
Post-processing means can be provided without increasing the height of the device. At the same time, the degree of freedom in the arrangement of the post-processing means can be improved. Further, by using this relay conveying means, it becomes possible to coexist with a plurality of post-processing means having different functions. For example, a mode in which a sorter is provided on one side surface of the device main body and a mailbox is provided on the upper surface of the device main body. Here, the term “relay conveyance means” refers to both concepts of a unit structure detachable from the apparatus main body and a structure integrally formed with the apparatus main body (the same applies hereinafter).

[0003]

However, since the relay conveying means itself has a conveying member therein, there is a possibility that a paper jam may occur. It is provided rotatably,
The internal transport path can be partially or completely opened. In such a case, the rotation axis side of the top cover may be located above the sheet transfer portion between the apparatus main body and the post-processing means. In such a case, the sheet may be removed to avoid interference with other members. A gap is required at the transfer site to allow rotation. Conventionally, the rotation allowable gap is left as it is, and therefore, there is a concern that foreign matter such as dust may enter the transport path of the sheet transfer portion and stain the sheet on which the target image is formed.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus capable of preventing foreign matter such as dust from entering a rotation allowable gap without hindering rotation of a member such as a top cover of the relay conveyance means. And its purpose.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a post-processing means can be provided, and when the post-processing means is provided, the post-processing means and the apparatus main body are provided. In the image forming apparatus in which a rotation allowable gap of a member rotated at the time of a jam clearance or the like is formed in a paper transfer portion between the rotation member and the rotation allowable gap, The configuration is such that a flexible member is provided to cover over.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a post-processing means is provided, and a rotation allowable gap of a member which is rotated at the time of a jam clearance or the like is provided at a sheet transfer portion between the post-processing means and the apparatus main body. In the provided image forming apparatus, the rotation allowable gap is covered with a flexible member over the entire area.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the second aspect, a guide plate for facilitating delivery of a sheet from the apparatus main body to the post-processing means is provided at the sheet delivery portion. The flexible member is fixed to the guide plate.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment includes an apparatus main body 2, a finisher 4 as a post-processing unit provided on a left side surface of the apparatus main body 2, and a sheet discharged from the apparatus main body 2. A relay transporting unit 6 having a unit structure for transporting to the finisher 4, a reading scanner 8 installed on the uppermost surface of the apparatus main body 2, and an ADF (auto document feeder) 10 installed on the upper surface of the reading scanner 8.
And an automatic double-sided unit 12 provided on the side opposite to the finisher 4, and further includes a manual feed tray 14, a paper feed tray 16 for a large number of sheets, and the like. Since both the reading scanner 8 and the ADF 10 have a well-known configuration, the description of the configuration and functions will be omitted. In FIG. 1, a large number of black painted triangles indicate paper detection sensors.

The apparatus main body 2 has a so-called substantially vertical transport path type configuration in which a sheet feeding section 20 is located below the image forming section 18 and a sheet discharging section 22 is located above the image forming section 18. In the vicinity of one side surface of the apparatus main body 2 provided with the duplex unit 12, a target image is formed while being conveyed substantially vertically from below to above, and is discharged. In the image forming section 18, the photosensitive drum 2 is written by the writing unit 24 based on image data transmitted from the reading scanner 8 or a personal computer (not shown).
An electrostatic latent image is formed on 6, and this electrostatic latent image is visualized by the developing unit 28. Reference numeral 29 denotes a developer supply device that supplies a developer to the developing unit 28. When the sheet is selected by the operator or the sheet is automatically selected by the apparatus main body 2, the sheet selected from a corresponding one of the plurality of sheet cassettes 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d of the sheet feeding unit 20 is selected. Is fed. The sheet is conveyed to the transfer section with the timing of the visualized toner image on the photosensitive drum 26 and the leading edge of the image adjusted by the registration roller 30, and the toner image is transferred to the sheet by the transfer means 32. The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is fixed to the fixing device 34.
Is conveyed to the fixing unit, and then sent to the paper discharge unit 22.

The paper discharge section 22 in the present embodiment has the following 3
It has two paper discharge routes. A paper discharge route R1 indicated by a solid line entering the automatic double-sided unit 12 A discharge route R2 indicated by a dotted line discharged to an inner one bin tray 36 formed above the relay conveyance means 6 in the upper part of the apparatus main body 2 The paper discharge route R3 indicated by a solid line entering the paper discharge route R1 and the paper discharge route R2 are selectively switched by the branch claws 40 and 42, and the paper discharge route R3
Are selectively switched by the branch claw 40. Automatic duplex unit 1 according to the paper discharge route R1
The sheet discharged to 2 is switched back in the automatic double-sided unit 12 and is conveyed from a position short of the registration roller 30 into a substantially vertical conveyance path. When paper is fed via the manual feed tray 14 or the large number paper feed tray 16, the paper is conveyed in a substantially vertical conveyance path as indicated by an arrow.
The paper discharge route 3 entering the relay conveyance means 6 includes a paper discharge route R4 indicated by a dotted line that is discharged to a paper discharge tray 38 which is an upper surface of the relay conveyance means 6, and a finisher through a conveyance path in the relay conveyance means 6. 4 and a branch route R5 indicated by a solid line, which is selectively switched by a branch claw 44 provided in the relay conveying means 6.

When the size of the sheet is equal to or larger than a predetermined size, the finisher 4 is provided with a discharge tray 38 on the upper surface of the relay conveying means 6.
And has a discharge tray 48 as well. A stapler 50 for binding a bundle of sheets is provided inside the finisher 4.
And a discharge unit 52 that pushes up the bundle of sheets bound by the stapler 50 and discharges the bundle to the discharge tray 48. The paper discharge route R5 that enters the finisher 4 includes a solid-line discharge route R6 that directly discharges to the paper discharge tray 48 without performing the binding process, and a paper discharge route R6 that performs the binding process.
8 and a branch route R7 indicated by a dotted line, which is selectively switched by a branching claw 54.

As shown in FIG. 2, the discharge tray extension 46
Is formed into a curved surface to smoothly guide the leading edge of the paper, but on the surface of the paper, a narrow width is used to float the paper in a partial contact state in order to prevent a decrease in transportability due to surface contact of the paper. Are formed along the sheet discharge direction. In this embodiment, from the viewpoint of preventing the paper from being bent in the width direction (the direction perpendicular to the discharge direction), the transport rib 64 is provided at the center 64a in the paper discharge direction and at 64b and 64c located on both sides thereof. It consists of three. The paper discharge tray extension 46 is rotatably provided with its lower end pivotally supported. When a jam occurs in the finisher 4, the paper discharge tray extension 46 is rotated by the handle 60 toward the relay conveyance means 6. In FIG. 2, the reading scanner 8 and the ADF
10 and the like are omitted.

Further, as shown in FIG.
The internal configuration can be pulled out to the outside by a handle 58 provided on the side cover 56, and staple replacement work or the like is performed in a state of being pulled out to the outside.

The upper surface of the relay conveying means 6, which is the paper discharge tray 38, is covered with upper surface covers 66, 68, 70, and the upper surface cover 6 located before and after the upper surface cover 68 at the central portion.
One end of each of the shafts 6 and 70 is pivotally supported by shafts 67 and 71, respectively, so that the jam can be easily removed. The upper surface cover 66 on the upstream side in the sheet discharging direction
It has an inclined surface that descends toward the upstream side so that a return function by the weight of the paper can be obtained. Top covers 66, 68,
In the center of the paper ejection tray 38, like the transport rib 64,
From the viewpoint of reducing the contact resistance of the paper to the
a, 68a and 70a are integrally formed, and an auxiliary tray 72 for improving the paper alignment function is rotatably provided on the downstream raised portion 70a with the downstream end supported by a shaft 75. Have been. The auxiliary tray 72 has an inclined surface 72a that pushes the stacked sheets back to the upstream side in the discharge direction. The discharge tray 38 from the apparatus main body 2 through the discharge route R4
As shown in FIG. 4, the small-size sheet discharged on the auxiliary tray 72 is pushed back by the inclined surface 72 a because the leading end in the sheet discharging direction rides on the inclined surface 72 a of the auxiliary tray 72, and as a result, the upstream end Are aligned, and paper alignment is assured. If the inclination angle θ of the inclined surface 72a is too small, the push-back action is small, and if the inclination angle θ is too large, the paper discharge resistance occurs. Therefore, the appropriate angle is determined by experiment. In FIG.
Indicates a spacer. . As shown in FIG. 4, when a jam occurs in the finisher 4, the discharge tray extension 46 is opened in the direction of the arrow.

As shown in FIG. 1, a transport path 73 and a plurality of transport rollers 74 are provided inside the relay transport means 6, and receive the paper discharged from the apparatus main body 2 and transport it to the finisher 4. I can do it. When a jam occurs on the downstream side in the transport path 73 of the relay transport means 6, the upper cover 70 on the downstream side is rotated upward as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, at the sheet transfer portion between the finisher 4 and the apparatus main body 2, the rotation of the discharge tray extension portion 46 of the finisher 4 and the upper surface cover 70 on the downstream side of the relay conveyance means 6 are permitted. A rotating permissible gap G is formed over the entire width W of the sheet. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 6, the upper guide plate 7
The lower guide plate 6 and the lower guide plate 78 are provided so that the side of the relay conveying means 6 is widened, that is, the paper is easily introduced into the finisher 4. The upper guide plate 76 and the lower guide plate 78 are supported by the finisher 4 and the upper guide plate 7
Numeral 6 is supported so as to be rotatable up and down in order to facilitate the jam clearance. A sponge 80 as a flexible member is packed in the rotation allowable gap G over the entire area thereof, and is closed so that no gap leading to the paper transport surface F is generated. The sponge 80 is fixed to the upper surface of the upper guide plate 76 by attaching the lower surface thereof with a double-sided tape 82. The thickness of the sponge 80 in the paper transport direction is set slightly larger than the width d of the rotation allowable gap G in the paper transport direction in order to obtain a sealing function.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the upper surface cover 70 on the downstream side of the relay conveying means 6 is rotated for jam clearance, the sponge 80 is deformed in accordance with the rotation operation. G is maintained in a sealed state while allowing the turning operation. The lower end of the sponge 80 is the upper guide plate 7.
6, the upper cover 70 of the relay conveyance means 6 and the discharge tray extension 4 of the finisher 4.
When the sponge 6 is rotated, the entire position of the sponge 80 is always kept constant only by deforming according to the rotation. Therefore, the function of preventing foreign matter from entering is kept constant. The sponge 80 may be directly fixed to a rotating member such as the upper cover 70 of the relay conveying means 6 or the discharge tray extension 46 of the finisher 4. However, in this case, since the sponge 80 rotates together with the rotating member, the deformation of the sponge 80 does not return to the original state due to the contact resistance with the counterpart rotating member.
There is a concern that the function of preventing foreign matter intrusion may be impaired, which is not preferred. By fixing to the upper guide plate 76 as described above, such a concern can be avoided. The same applies to the case where the discharge tray extension 46 of the finisher 4 is rotated (FIG. 8), and the upper cover 70 and the upper guide plate 7 of the relay conveying means 6 are provided.
The same applies to the case where both of them have been rotated (FIG. 9). By filling the rotation allowable gap G with the flexible member in this way, it is possible to prevent foreign matter such as dust from dropping and entering the transport surface F without hindering the rotation operation of the member.

In the above embodiment, the sponge 80 is fixed to the upper guide plate 76. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any sponge may be used as long as the gap sealing function can be obtained.

[0018]

According to the first or second aspect of the present invention, since the rotation allowable gap of the sheet transfer portion is closed by the flexible member, the rotation operation of the member which is rotated at the time of jam clearance or the like is performed. It is possible to prevent foreign matter from entering the sheet conveying surface without any trouble.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the flexible member is fixed to the guide plate, the flexible member is always kept at a fixed position even when the member to be rotated is rotated. As a result, the foreign matter intrusion function of the flexible member is kept constant.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view from the front side of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially omitted perspective view of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a state in which an internal configuration of the finisher is drawn out.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a main part of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1, showing a state in which a discharge tray extension of a finisher is rotated.

5 is a front view of a main part of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1, showing a state in which a top cover on the downstream side of the relay conveyance unit is rotated.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a main part of a sheet transfer portion of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

7 is a front view of the main part when the upper surface cover on the downstream side of the relay conveyance means is rotated from the state of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a front view of the main part when the paper discharge tray extension of the finisher is rotated from the state shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a front view of the main part when the upper cover and the upper guide plate on the downstream side of the relay conveying means are rotated from the state of FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Apparatus main body 4 Finisher as post-processing means 6 Relay conveyance means 80 Sponge as flexible member 76 Upper guide plate as guide plate G Rotation allowable gap

Claims (3)

[Claims] A post-processing means can be provided, and when the post-processing means is mounted, a member which is turned at the time of jam clearance or the like is provided at a sheet transfer portion between the post-processing means and the apparatus main body. An image forming apparatus in which a rotation permissible gap is formed, wherein the rotatable member is provided with a flexible member that covers the rotation permissible gap over the entire area. 2. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a post-processing means, wherein a sheet-passing portion between the post-processing means and the apparatus main body is provided with a rotation-permitting gap of a member which is rotated at the time of jam clearance or the like. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rotation allowable gap is covered by a flexible member over the entire area. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a guide plate for facilitating transfer of a sheet from the apparatus main body to said post-processing means is provided at said sheet transfer portion, and said guide plate is provided on said guide plate. An image forming apparatus, wherein a flexible member is fixed.